Cuttack: In a significant development, the Orissa High Court Wednesday directed the state government to pay Rs 533 as daily remuneration for home guards. The order is likely to benefit 16,894 home guards in the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq and Justice AK Mishra directed the state government to pay the hiked remuneration to the home guards within three months. The court also made it clear that the new remuneration would be effective from January this year retrospectively.
The division bench refused to tweak an earlier order of a single judge bench on the issue.
As per the proceedings, the Supreme Court had asked the state governments in 2016 to pay remuneration to home guards in line with the salaries of police personnel. Though at least eight state governments have implemented the SC order, Odisha was lagging behind.
The director general of home guards had also recommended the state government to revise the remuneration of home guards, but to no avail.
Protesting the state government’s approach on the issue, Prakash Kumar Jena and two others had filed a petition in the HC. Taking up the case, a single-judge bench of Justice Bishwanath Rath had directed the state government to pay Rs 500 as daily remuneration to home guards.
However, the state government did not accept the judgment of the single judge bench and filed a review petition.
Representing the state government, advocate JP Patnaik informed the court that the home guards are now getting a daily remuneration of Rs 300, which is similar to the daily salary of contractual constables.
Pleading on behalf of the home guards, advocate Satyabrata Mohanty contradicted the claims of state government’s counsel and told the HC that the home guards are now getting Rs 240 as daily remuneration.